Crossing gate



March 31. 1925. 1,532,018v

E. YOUNG CROSSING GATE Filed sept. 12, 1921 s Spee 1 tot E. YOUNG CROSSING GATE March 3l. 1925.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. l2, 1921 ,/f f/ M March 3l. 1925.

E. YOUNG CRO S S I NG GATE Filed Sept. 12, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTO RN EY WITNESSES Patented Mar. 31,1925.

4UNITED STAT-13's PATENT oFFIcE.

ERNEST YOUNG, or MANBAB," WEsT VIRGINIA.

encss'ING GATE.

Application led Septeinber12, 1921. Serial No. 499,903.

To all whom t may concern.' l

Be it known that I, ERNEST YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manbar, inthe county of Logan and State ,of West Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Crossing Gates, of

each other to their closed and opened posi-v tions, in combination with electrical actuated means which embodies two switches one of which is actuated by the locomotwe to close the gate. and the other of' which is actuated by the gate incident to the closing thereof, son that thegate willbe automaticallyopened 'at predetermined intervals.

The nature and advantages'of the invention'will be better understood when the following detail description is read in connection with'the accompanying drawings, the invention residing in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as claimed.

In the drawings forming part of this application, like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the Several views, and wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the gate showing the latter in its closed position.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken longitudinally thro'ugh the housing shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the switch actuated by the gate.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the one of the adjustable pulleys.

Figure is an enlarged sectional view of the locomotive actuated switch.

Figure 6 is a detail view of the control element thereof.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view.

In Figure 1, I have illustrated the gate embodied in the present invention, and which gate includes the sections A and B respectively. The gate is of a flexible character; each section includes a plurality of flexible elements 10 which v are suspended arranged in suitable casings 1&1)

froma flexible element 11. The gate sections A and B are in turn suspended'from the opposed runs of an endless cable 13, the latter being trained over the pulleys .14 and 15 respectively, passing twice about the pul-4 ley'15 so 4that the gate sections move toward and and opened positions. As illustrated in Figure 4,the pulley 14`is mounted in bearings 16 wluch are slidably mounted on'a bracket arm 17 to tension the cable as the occasion requnes, thebearingsbeing held fixed relatively to the arm 17 vby means of set .screws or the like'18. The pulleys l14 and 15 are which form part of a housing 20 which is arranged above the gate sections to protectthe latter away from eachother to their closedv from-inclement weather. The gatesections are'suspended Efrom the cable 13 by means of eyelets 21 hich slide along the runs of the cable incident to the opening of the gate so that the gate sections can be folded. The gate and its associated parts above described, are supported by a suitable bridge like structure 22 illustrated in Figure 1.

The electrical mechanism for controllingY the opening and the closing movement of the gate sections embodies a reversible motor indicated at C, a switch indicated generally at D and operable to effect the closing of the gate, and an additional switch indicated generally `at E which is actuated by the gate and operable to open the gate at a predeterminedv interval.

The switch D which is initially actuated for the purpose above mentioned, is ccntained in a suitable casing 24: disposed in proximity to` the rail 25 of the track, inasmuch as this switch is actuated -by the wheels 26' of the locomotive. spaced pairs of fixed contacts 27 between which the movable contact 28 operates.

' This movable contact is associated with one sections 29 and 30 are Aconnected together bya coil spring 31 for a purpose to be herein- This switch includesafter described, while the respective sections are pivoted as at 32, the section 30 of the lever is connected to the adjacent section 33 of a sectional control element, which includes an additional section 34 which projects labove the rails 25 of the track and has associated therewith a roller'35 adapted to be engaged by the wheel of the locomotive 'te initially operate the switch D. The secdicated at 41. The spring 42 encircles the piston rod 43 and functions to normally maintain the piston in a position illustrated in Figure 5. The piston rod 43 slides through an opening inthe section 33 of the control element above described, and associated with one end of the rod 43 is a nut 44. Also encircling the rod 43 between the nut 44 and the adjacent section 33 ot' the control element'is a coil spring 45 which cooperates with the spring 42 and allowing the piston 39 to gradually return to normal position fora purpose to be hereinafter described. The switch D is included in circuit with the reversible motor C, which embodies the solenoids 46 andv 47` respectively between which is pivotally mounted the rocker arm 47 each end of which engages a pin on each of the solenoids in a manner whereby when one of the solenoids is energized the movement thereof will shift the rocker arm 47 to move the other solenoid in the opposite direction.

The switch E hereinabove referred to is enclosed in a casing 48 which also houses the solenoids 46 and 47, and includes the spaced series of terminals 49 and 50 respectively,v

between which the movable contact 51 operates. This contact 51 is carried by the section 52 of a sectional lever which includes the section 53, and which sections are connected together by a. coil spring 54, the sections being pivoted as at 55. The section 53 projects through a slot 56 in the casing 48 and is connected by a rod 57 to the adjacent terminal ot a lever 58 which is fulcrumed at a pointhetween its ends as at 59 upon a suitable bracket 6.0. The runs ot' the cable 13 abovel referred to has secured thereto collars 61 and 62 respectively, and from cach collarprojects a pin 63. The lever A58 is disposed in the path of movement of thel pins whichalternately contact the |lever to rock itnpon its fulcrum59, and thus imparts movement to the section 53 of the lever which has associated therewith the movable contact 51. v

In practice, the gate is normally open, and the parts are normally in the osition illustrated in Figures 5 and 7. 26 of the locomotive strikes the section 34 ot the control element, this section together with the section 33 moves as a unit in a forto its normal ien the wheel' cident to 'this movement of the control'ele-` ment, the movable contact 28 is shifted from the position illustrated in ,Figure 5 into engagement with the other pair ot contacts v27, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 7 thus closing the circuit to the motor C through the solenoid 46. VThis is accomplished by current passing ythrough the conducting wire' a from the source of current to the contact b, through the movable contact 28 to the contact c, thence through the wire e, the contact f to the Acontacts 50 and 50', the current from the contact 50 passing throughl the Wire g so as to energize the solenoid 46 and bridge the contacts r and 'z'. The current flows from the Contact 50 through the conductor wire j, the contacts /t and-z', the wire/7c, the motor' c and the wire Z, bridging the contacts m, and n and thence through the shunt vwindings of 'the motor and back to the source of current. it is ot course apparent that as the section 30 ot' the movable Contact levermoves under the inliuence of the piston 39, it moves independently of the section 29 to a predetermined position, after which the spring 3l knocks the movable contact 28 away from its normal position into engagement with the other pair of movable contacts 27. When the piston 39 returns to normal position it also'returns the movable contact 28 to normal position and in engagement with the contacts 29. The pin 63 of the collar 62 associated with one run of the cable 13, contacts the lever 58 shifting the latter upon its fulcrum 59 to the position illustrated in Figure 2. Incident to the movement of the lever 58 in this direction, the section 53 of the lever forming part of the switch E, is moved to a predetermined position in the slot 56, at which interval the spring 5l functions to snap the movable contact 51 from its closed position as illustrated in Figure 7, into engagement with the series of contacts indicated at 49. The switch l", which is operated in the manner just described, by means of the gate, is utilized to reverse the motor C through the solenoid 47 to return-the gate sections to opened position, but this cannot occur until the movable contact 28 of. the switch D is returned to its normal position as shown in Figuri-v 5. The return of the movable contact 28 osition does not occur until the piston 39 as been returned to its normal position which is very gradual. inasmuch as the valves 4l are closed incident to the movement of the piston i'n this direction. Consequently the gate is maintained closed a sufficient length ottime to allow a train to pass the roadway. After the piston 39 returns to its normal position, and the movable Contact 28 returns to its normal position,

Athe position of the movable contact 51 of the switch mechanism E. The motor is reversed to close the gate b the current passing through the contact 2 through the conducting wire z', to the contact c, and thence to the contacts 49, through the movable contact 51, the solenoid 47 is energized by the current passing through the conducting' wire y, the current then passesv from the lower contact 49 to the wire j and bridges the contacts 1' and s through the solenoid 47 and thence passes to the motor to reverse the action thereof and the current from the motor is passed through the conducting wire t through the lower contacts of the solenoid 47 and thence back to the source of current.

'While it is, believed that from the foregoingdescription the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood thatI do not limit myself to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

L In a -crossing gate, a pair of gate sections, a reversible electric motor ,for controlling the movements of said gate sections, a switch included in circuits with said'motor and adapted to be actuated by a train to close the gate, means for gradually return'- ing the switch mechanism toirnormal position subsequent to passage of the train, said means including a dash pot, a second switch included in said circuits with said motor and actuated incident to the closing of the gate, one of said circuits being closed through the latter mentioned switch after the first mentioned switch mechanism has been returned to normal position, and gate actuated means :for opening saidcircuit through the second mentioned switch incident to the opening of the gate.

2. In a crossing gate, a flexible gate structure including two sections suspended for movement toward and away from each other, a reversible electric motor for controlling the movement of the gate sections, a switch included in the circuits with said motor, and adapted to be actuated by the locomotive for closing the gate sections, a second switch included in the circuits of saidmoton gate actuated 4means for operating the second mentioned switch incident to the opening and the closing of the gate, and means for gradually returning the first mentioned switch mechanism to normal position to close one of the circuits of the motor through the other switch for the purpose specified.

3. In a crossing gate, a flexible gate structure including two sections, 'spaced pulleys, an endless cable movable over-said pulleys, means for suspending the gate sections from the opposed runs of the cable, a reversible electric motor for controlling the movement of said cable whereby the gate sections are moved toward and away from each other, a switch included in the circuits to said motor and adapted to be actuated by the locomotive to close the gate sections, a second switch to open the gate included in the circuits to said motor, gate 'actuated means for opening and closing the second mentioned switch incident to the opening and closing of the gate sections, and means for gradually returning the first mentioned switch mechanism to normal position to close one of the circuits to the second mentioned switch 4to open the gate when the latter has been operated by the gate in closed position.

4. In a crossing gate, a flexiblegatestructure including two sections, an endless cable, means for suspending the gate sections from the opposed runs of said cable,. a reversible electric motor for controlling the movements of said cable and the opening of and closing of said gate sections, a switch included in the circuits with said motor and adapted to be actuated by the locomotive -to effect a. closing of the gate sections, al second switch included in the circuits with Said motor, the second mentioned switch mechanism including a lever pivoted between its ends and controlling the movement of the movable contact of said mechanism, means carried by the opposed runs of the cable and ar- .ranged to alternately contact said lever,

whereby the second mentioned switch is opened and closed incident to the opening and closing of the gate sections, and means for gradually returning the switch mechanism of the first mentioned switch lto its normal position after the gate yhas been closed, whereb onelof the circuits has been operated by t e gate in closed positionto open the gate.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ERNEST YOUNG. 

